This invention relates to appliances and is more particularly concerned with appliances, such as refrigerators having a cabinet with a hinged door and a sealing gasket therebetween. Specifically, this invention concerns a shipping device and method of shipping such an appliance that keeps the door closed and in its proper position relative to the cabinet.
During shipment of appliances, and particularly household refrigerators, the appliance is sometimes subjected to such severe impacts that the hinged doors are thrown open or the unhinged portion of the door moves vertically with resultant shearing stress to cause damage to the refrigerator cabinet, the door, and/or the hinges. This is particularly a problem in the case of appliances, such as refrigerators, having a relatively heavy door that is to be maintained closed by magnetic means rather than mechanical latch means as the door lacks the structural rigidity afforded by a mechanical latch. Such magnetic means may be incorporated in the door sealing gasket or there may be a magnetic latch that functions in a similar fashion. Appliances that have a door sealing gasket can be subjected to shipping abuse to the extent that the gasket becomes squashed and distorted and often results in its being ineffective as a sealing gasket and needs to be replaced. It is quite desirable to prevent such gasket deformation during shipment.
In order to protect the appliance from damage during shipment, as described above, various packaging systems have been employed, such as taping the door closed and/or placing cardboard supports under the door. Although these heretofore utilized packaging systems have been partially successful in reducing shipping damage, a severe impact can often be sufficient to break the tape, crush the cardboard supports, and free the door, thus making it susceptible to damaging movement during shipment. Moreover, applying and removing a sufficient amount of tape to adequately support the door is time consuming and can cause difficulty during its removal, as it may leave undesirable marks on the appliance that need to be removed.
By my invention, there is provided an appliance shipping device and method of shipping which, when used in conjunction with the appliance, is easy to apply prior to shipment, easy to remove after shipment, and maintains the appliance door in its desired position during shipment, thus eliminating the above-mentioned shipping problems.